◦ Let me share the message that has been on my heart for a few weeks now:
If you’re here to be popular then you are missing the mark. And the truth of the matter is the more you fall in love with Jesus the less you care about that mess anyways.
▪️If you’re serving God you don’t have time to count the [likes].
▪️If you’re in the word you don’t have time to listen to [words].
▪️If you are kingdom-minded there isn’t space between those two ears for [negativity].
Sisters, we don’t have time to worry about what others are doing or saying – the time is near. Jesus is coming. Let’s win souls for God.
Let’s be so focused on God that He is the only thing on our mind – and when that happens everything else will fall into place.
1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:1-2
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” Psalm 32:8
I was encouraging a friend of mine a few week’s ago to trust in the Lord’s plan. As my friend was facing life altering decisions where fear can quickly creep in, us as humans can have doubts and second guesses. Encouraging the reminder of trusting the Lord’s plan brought to my mind – why do we struggle so much to trust His plan? Is it because we think our plans are better? Less scarier? More comfortable?
His will be done. We cannot compete with it even if we try. So why do we?
Us Christians who have surrendered our ways to follow the Lord’s ways – why do we still try to figure it all out on our own? We gave our life to Him. It is not our life to figure out. It’s a life that belonged to Him in the beginning, and it belongs to Him now. We should not want it our way, but His way. I love the verse in Psalms and the key word it begins with. I will “instruct” you.
Merriam Webster defines “instruct” as: To give knowledge to. To teach, to train. To
provide information and advice.
How neat and comforting to serve a God that truly wanted to teach us His ways. While learning His ways, He will show us the way to go. You won’t be alone, and you will be counseled.
Limit the doubts, the second guesses, and lean into the one who wants to instruct you in the way you should go. He wants to be the light to your path and life.
I encourage you today to give your life to the Lord. When you do – give up your ways. Trust His ways. Trust His instruction and love to guide you – every step of the way.
I want to address the “older generation,” and by “older” I mean anyone aged 30 and up. I have heard and even spoken myself about the identity crisis that plagues the younger generation. We have prayed for and battled against this on their behalf, but after service one Sunday morning, the Holy Spirit gently asked me, “How can you come to me about the younger generation having an identity crisis while being blind to your own?”
I recently asked a group of women to write on paper three negative things they think about themselves. Why negative things? Because, generally speaking, we tend to only think of ourselves in a negative light. Even if we have a moment or a day where we truly allow ourselves to think of ourselves in a positive light, we tend to squash those thoughts, because we’ve been taught “not to think too highly of ourselves.” I then went around the room and had them each say what their thoughts were toward another woman in the room. I asked the women if what the others had to say about them matched what they had written on their paper. Not one of them did. In our efforts to overcome pride and keep it at bay, we’ve swung the pendulum to the opposite end of the spectrum denying confidence its rightful place in our hearts and minds.
The church doesn’t operate the way it was designed to, because we have so discouraged ourselves that we don’t believe we can heal the sick or “bind up the broken hearted” even though Jesus clearly stated that we would do “greater” things than even He did. Instead, we look around at our mess and let that determine our boundaries and the access God has to our lives. We think to ourselves, “God can’t possibly use me in my mess.” Jesus came as our messiah. Those first four letters? M-E-S-S. Mess. Those last three letters, iah, come from the Hebrew word, “Yahweh,” meaning, “I am the Lord.” He literally called himself the Lord of our mess! What we were called to do was never about us or our mess. It has always been about Him. We were called to carry the Kingdom with us wherever we go. The atmosphere of any room we enter should shift because the Kingdom has just walked into it. He called us a city on a hill. His intent was never for us to be hidden behind false humility but to shine for the entire world to see so He could be glorified!
We have come into agreement with the lie that we cannot have the confidence to believe that God would use us to call out the destinies of others, lay hands on the sick and see them recover, or for businesses to be blessed simply because we have walked in their door. We need to begin to speak life to the promises that God has given us. Life and lie are seperated by only one letter, “f,” which in Hebrew means “spear,” “hook,” or “tent peg.” It’s time we become like Jael and drive a tent peg into the lies of the enemy by speaking life. By being life to those around us.
We cannot condemn the generation behind us for not walking in a freedom we have never known ourselves, in a freedom we have not modeled for them. We’ve been criticizing this generation for picking up and running with the mantle we’ve given them. It’s time we stop talking about the Bible and start living it. Those words are not just history, they are His-Story, and we’ve been tasked with writing the next chapter. See someone limping? I dare you to pray for them. See someone broken? I dare you to prophecy to their dry bones. I dare you to walk in everything the enemy has told you that you can’t. I dare you to bring Heaven to Earth. I dare you.
That was my diagnosis, and that’s what stayed way past its welcome.
I self-medicated.
I went to the doctor.
I got a shot.
I got antibiotics.
But none of that touched the cough of all coughs that I had kicking. Did I mention having a cough right now is the most taboo thing in the world? Yeah. Fun times.
I finally broke down and went to minor care where they gave me IV meds that finally did the trick. I had Covid last January and the doctor said the way this bronchitis lingered was due to the residual effects.
Seriously? I am so over Covid.
But it got me thinking – what are the residual effects of our sins? What’s sticking around long term whether we want it to or not?
Because even though there’s forgiveness and grace and mercy – there are still consequences. And those consequences don’t just affect me, they have the potential to affect every person I surround myself with and even future generations.
Now that’s something to keep at the forefront of all decisions that we make. The choices we make today have the potential to hinder and haunt us for a long, long time.
Let’s stay prayed up.
Let’s stay in the word.
Let’s be ready to battle against the temptations that this world flings at us day in and day out.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:10-11
The garage, closets, and underneath the bed are places I tend to stash unfinished projects. The beginning of something – things I started and have left undone to finish (if I do) another time.
My intentions started out strong and then the creativity and work came to a halt. Some of my unfinished projects are labeled with things like “loss interest” or “not turning out like I’d like.”
Quite honestly, I’m pretty proficient in starting things – just not as good at finishing them.
There are times in my life where I have felt a little incomplete, as if my promises were forgotten or like I was stuck in a place of questioning the way things were going or not going.
Throughout scripture we find God’s Word reminding us that He has been with us since the very beginning. Verses like Genesis 28:15 where God reminds Jacob, “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised.”
The phrase “will bring you back” carries the idea of returning to an original starting point. Starting points indicate where things begin. We find the beginning of all creation and our original relationship with God in Genesis. We also find the fall from that relationship and the beginning of death and separation. But there is hope because we also find the promise of redemption through the offspring of Abraham.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-18
I find hope that God, the creator of all beginnings, is working to bring his purposes for me to completion – molding and making me. The promises I have stored in my heart are not sitting on a shelf somewhere but are near and dear to the Father.
“Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6.
Be confident of this friend…
He is walking beside you.
He is surrounding you with a hedge of protection.
He will not leave you.
He is not limited or bound by space, distance, or time.
There is no power or force that can stand in the way. He is continually working to fulfill what He has already arranged and appointed for your life.
“And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
Our blessings and hope are always in Jesus – the author and finisher of our faith.
I am in an art class and the last few weeks the project has been two point perspective. My drawing is basically like a vanishing city landscape. It is one of the more complex projects I guess.
But I did not see it as complex. In fact, I thought I wasn’t doing enough until one of the kids looked over his shoulder, saw my artwork, and said, “How much extra stuff are you adding. That must have been so hard.”
To me it looked like the simplest thing ever. I remembered each tiny thing I did, and it didn’t seem hard. But then I looked at it in a different perspective. “I would never be able to do something like this. How? That’s so hard.”
I realized this is exactly what we do.
God is an artist, and His artwork is unknown to us. It is a work that is not finished, but He knows exactly how it is going to look when He does finish. It is the ultimate masterpiece.
Everyone’s life is the little tiny details. The things that make it so complex, so beautiful, and without them it would be dull.
Don’t question whether you are valuable or not. God chose you to be a part of his masterpiece. He knows everything about you.
And the details are necessary, so don’t think that God doesn’t love you.
To us all we see is the whole masterpiece not the beauty of the details. We don’t think we are important, or that you have to be something out of this world to be important in his masterpiece.
But God plans you and knows you perfectly, so why bother trying to change your life instead of living it to its fullest by serving Jesus.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14
Let’s become love starting today. What does that mean anyways? We have an amazing God who exemplifies love in every aspect of His nature. Many of us know that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). In fact, God committed the ultimate act of love for us. He took on human flesh and walked this earth to take on the penalty of our sins. We don’t deserve such great love and kindness. God loves us unconditionally regardless of our shameful tendencies and backgrounds. Jesus actually tells us to be a reflection of Him and to love our enemies. Loving others is loving God.
Let’s become love in a world full of setbacks and difficult people as Bob Goff communicates in his book, Everybody Always. Loving each other is what we are meant to do and how we were made to function. Will this be uncomfortable and messy at times? Absolutely. Use Jesus as your motivation and guide.
Loving your neighbor is more than just keeping easy relationships. Loving your neighbor means getting out of your comfort zone to love those who are different from you. Yes, even those who are particularly difficult to love. This will take a great amount of patience and humility, and you may be misunderstood at times. Talk to God about it and find encouragement in His word. Keep going.
Love others the way Jesus loves you. Let’s become love today.
Have you ever wondered “How long Lord? How long?” You may be praying about certain things, relationships, or situations but nothing is happening. Many of us have thought this or have felt this way, so you are in good company!
Even the Psalmist, King David, felt this way and shared his feelings in Psalm 13. There is always something happening whether we see it or not. God is always at work and he never sleeps or slumbers. It’s often during the waiting seasons that our growth happens. Patience has its perfect work in us and our faith increases during these times. Our spiritual muscles get stronger as we praise our way through.
One of the most important things we can do while we wait is to live fully present in each day. Jesus told us to not worry about tomorrow or be distracted by focusing on future concerns. Instead he wants us to live each day abundantly, experiencing and doing all he has for us. Each day is a gift that God gives us to rejoice in and praise him. Some practical things we can do each day to keep our focus on the Lord while staying in peace and joy are:
Set a specific time each morning to spend time with the Lord.
Use a clock, alarm or timer to help you stay on track.
Have a time of worship, prayer and Bible study during this time.
Don’t complicate it! Example: set 5-10 minutes for worship, 5-10 minutes for prayer, 5-10 minutes for Bible study.
Use tools like the Bible app for Bible study or Spotify for worship music to help you get started.
Listen for the Lord to speak to you. Don’t just talk at him.
Do this before you open social media, text messages or email in the morning.
Don’t get discouraged if it takes you a bit to get in a routine.
The Lord said he has given us everything we need for life and godliness, so ask him help you focus and make time with him a priority. Always remember to thank the Lord throughout the day for all he is doing and has done in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you of all the things Jesus has said and to lead you each day. Lastly, remind yourself daily and anytime you feel overwhelmed or discouraged that God has never lost a battle, he is faithful in all his ways, nothing is impossible for him and no word from God has ever failed.
Hope you all have a wonderful day filled with his peace and joy, and that you abide in hope for he who promised is faithful!
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me. ~ Psalms 13:5-6
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. ~ Matthew 6:34
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ~ James 1:2-4
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. ~ John 10:10
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9
I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. ~ Psalms 34:4-9
About four years ago my family decided to get our certification in scuba diving together. The course consisted of some challenging exercises, but the most challenging was navigating underwater. My sister and I were dive partners and were told that one of us would need to be the navigator (legit compass and all) and the other was responsible for making sure we were swimming in the right direction. You can imagine my confusion since there are apparently no google maps underwater!
My sister and I decided that we didn’t need the compass and we could probably make it to the destination without it. So we began the exercise and we were killing it. All I’m saying is Micheal Phelps would have had some competition. However, when we thought we had completely aced the test, well you know how that went. We were way off course and not even close to the right spot.
When I think of this story I often laugh at how naive we were for thinking that we did not need the one tool that was given to us to help us reach our destination. How many times in our lives do we think yeah I don’t need that compass, I don’t need to know what the Word says, I know where I’m heading, I’m going straight. I got this. I can do it on my own.
And then at some point the waves and the temptations start to ever so slightly turn us and we aren’t even heading straight anymore. But we don’t even notice until we’re up out of the water, so far off course, and we wonder “how did I even get here?”
Ephesians 6:11 says to “put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.” Ephesians 6:17 says, “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God.”
It is a battle both won and ongoing and we were made to fight, but not with our own armor and weapon. We are made to fight with the armor of our King Jesus.
Rays of Sunshine inc 